Path 2

Path 2

Beavis and Butt-Head’s Most Controversial Moments

April 4, 2013

Fans have been petitioning for Comedy Central to pick it up. But if they do they might want to keep in mind the show’s controversial history. After all, MTV made changes to a bunch of episodes after they aired and became reruns — some were even taken out of circulation entirely. Here they are!Last month marked 20 years since Beavis and Butthead debuted on MTV. But with that anniversary came the news that the show won’t be seen there anymore.

MTV’s never been too hot on airing images of guns, so when (albeit animated) members of their target demographic spent an episode haphazardly firing them and taking down a commercial airplane in the process, it was promptly locked in the vault shortly after airing. Years later, MTV pulled the beloved “Incognito” episode due to the rash of school shootings. Unlike “Heroes,” however, it eventually made its way back into rotation.

4) “Home Improvement”Original Airing: May 24 1993

One of Beavis and Butthead‘s most well-known episodes is also one of its most mangled. Eventually trimmed down to just over half of its five minute length, the boys’ rollicking foray into home and lawncare is seen above as it originally aired, with fume-sniffing, cat butt-painting and fire-admiring in tact. While the more extreme moments did get cut from re-runs and even home video releases, the neutered version remains a fan (and media watchdog-type) favorite.

3) “Way Down Mexico Way Part 2”Original Airing: May 26, 1993

While the clip above features both parts one and two, it was to the latter that MTV added a disclaimer. As the boys return from a voyage to Mexico, they try their hands at being drug mules, except that they forget to tie-off the ends of the condoms full of pills before they swallow them.

Beavis and Butthead’s foray into stand-up comedy is quite funny. But the episode is mostly remembered for unfortunate timing: It aired one month before an Ohio boy allegedly was inspired by the show to burn down his family’s trailer, killing his sister. As a result, the episode’s closing moments of Beavis burning down the comedy club were dramatically edited and ultimately removed. And so the show’s fanbase edited together different pieces of surviving bootlegs into a Frankenstein’s monster of the original.

1) “Stewart’s House”Original Airing: June 14, 1993

Speaking of the Ohio incident, when Beavis and Butthead were causing nationwide outrage, “Stewart’s House” became the clip supposedly indicative of the boys’ debauchery. Along with violence, torture and the blowing up of a kitchen, the guys “get high” off of gas oven fumes, also prompting an MTV disclaimer. While the episode’s also notable for being Stewart’s first appearance, it’s probably the zenith of the boys being absolute menaces.

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